January 2022

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

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The novel “The Caves of Steel” by Isaac Asimov was published for the first time in 1953, serialized in the magazine “Galaxy” and in 1954 as a book.

Dr. Roj Nemennuh Sarton is a Spacer and when he’s killed the ensuing investigation is a major event for the NYPD, which has the competence for the crimes committed in Spacetown, the outpost built next to the city. The tension between Earthmen and Spacers is stronger than ever and this means that the case must be solved or the consequences for the Earth could be very negative.

New York Commissioner Julius Enderby charges Elijah Baley with running the investigation but the Spacers demanded that one of them work with him. Baley discovers that he will have to collaborate with R. Daneel Olivaw and R. stands for robot. It’s in fact a robot totally looks like a human. This worsens Baley’s aversion to robots in general, not least because the policeman knows that if the news of the presence of such an advanced robot on Earth spreads, riots could break out.

Parapsyche by Jack Vance

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The novel “Parapsyche” by Jack Vance was published for the first time in 1958.

When Jean Marsile and her friend Don Berwick see what they believe to be a ghost in an old house, their reaction is more of curiosity than fear. Jean discusses it with her family, and her father has no answers to give her while her brother Hugh hides behind religious answers because he recently started attending an evangelical church.

The years pass but Jean and Don, who in the meantime got married, still remember that apparition and started thinking about how to scientifically study the phenomena attributed to supernatural causes. Hugh repeatedly shows his opposition to such investigations, which he considers blasphemous, but the couple intends to find out if there really is an afterlife.

A Very Private Haunting by Sharon Bidwell

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The novel “A Very Private Haunting” by Sharon Bidwell was published for the first time in 2018.

Arthur Penrose has returned to the village of Glencross many years after leaving it following his grandfather’s death. He’s now the last of his family and the heir to the mansion inhabited for various Penrose generations. Arthur doesn’t intend to live there, also because the chills he feels are not only due to the cold but also to strange events. In the village, he’s seen as a foreigner, a situation that adds to the strange atmosphere that troubles some local teenagers who are prevented from leaving. Arthur ends up calling his father’s old colleague in the army, Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

The search for a strange creature seems to have taken Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart’s last energies, and it’s time for him to take a vacation. That’s a situation he struggles to deal with and Arthur Penrose’s call seems like the right opportunity to go somewhere else for a while without falling into boredom. When Anne Travers finds out about his plans, she says she’s interested in participating in that investigation.

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

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The novel “Children of Dune” by Frank Herbert was published for the first time in 1976 serialized in the magazine “Analog Science Fiction and Fact” and then as a book. It’s the third book in the Dune saga and follows “Dune Messiah”.

Nine years after Paul Muad’dib went to the desert, his children Leto and Ghanima are decidedly out of the ordinary because they have their father’s powers. Alia is the regent but has become an Abomination and her plans for the future intersect with those of Wensicia Corrino and her son Farad’n, the heir of the House.

Climate change on Arrakis is becoming more relevant and the desert is retreating. With it, the ecosystem that allows the spice to form is shrinking. Some Fremen are abandoning the old traditions and their society is going through changes of various kinds. The social unrest is also due to the Preacher, a mysterious man who, according to some people, is Muad’dib back from the desert.

Radicalized by Cory Doctorow

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The novella “Unauthorized Bread” by Cory Doctorow was published for the first time in 2019 as part of the anthology “Radicalized”.

Salima is a refugee who managed to arrive in the USA, where she lives in a building with other people in the same situation. Her apartment is equipped with smart appliances whose use must comply with a rather strict contract. When two of the companies that produce those appliances go bankrupt, their products stop working.

On the dark side of the Internet, Salima finds unauthorized and absolutely illegal solutions to make her appliances work again and without limitations. She helps her neighbors reprogram them and teaches the kids in the building how to do it but after a while, she discovers that if they get caught they could be evicted and even go to jail.